Numbers 36:2
in Numbers 36saying, “When the LORD commanded my lord to give the land as an inheritance to the Israelites by lot, He also commanded him to give the inheritance of our brother Zelophehad to his daughters.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and they said, Jehovah commanded my lord to give the land for inheritance by lot to the children of Israel: and my lord was commanded by Jehovah to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother unto his daughters.
KJV
And they said, The Lord commanded my lord to give the land for an inheritance by lot to the children of Israel: and my lord was commanded by the Lord to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother unto his daughters.
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This verse in Numbers 36
Commentary
5 notes on this verseTo give the inheritance of Zelophehad - unto his daughters - See this case spoken of at large on Numbers 27 (note). Either the first eleven verses of Numbers 27 should come in before this chapter, or this chapter should come in immediately after those eleven verses; they certainly both make parts of the same subject. Here Moses determines that heiresses should marry in their own tribe, that no part of the ancient inheritance might be alienated from the original family.
This site's exposition
the chief fathers of the families
on Numbers 36:1-2
The heads of Gilead bring the fourth case in Numbers that the law as given does not settle, after the men defiled by a dead body at 9:6-8, the sabbath-breaker at 15:32-36, and the daughters themselves at 27:1-11. They come near and speak before Moses and the princes, which is the approach the daughters made at 27:2, so the second hearing opens the way the first one did. What they raise is a collision between two things already commanded, the land divided by lot at 26:55 and the inheritance granted to Zelophehad's daughters at 27:7.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
): The Lord commanded to give the inheritance of Zelophehad to his daughters; and they are very well pleased that it should be so, none of them knowing but that hereafter it might be the case of their own families, and then their daughters would have the benefit of this law.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
13 These are the commandments and the judgments, which the L ORD commanded by the hand of Moses unto the children of Israel in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:94%@v13
And they said,....
The words behind it
21 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּאמְר֗וּ | vaiyomeru | and they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֲדֹנִי֙ | ʾadoni | lord my | H113 → | 333 times |
| צִוָּ֣ה | tzivah | he commanded | H6680 → | 494 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| לָתֵ֨ת | latet | to give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָאָ֧רֶץ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| בְּנַחֲלָ֛ה | benachalah | <in> an inheritance | H5159 → | 222 times |
| בְּגוֹרָ֖ל | begoral | by lot | H1486 → | 78 times |
| לִבְנֵ֣י | livnei | to [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| וַֽאדֹנִי֙ | vadoni | and lord my | H113 → | 333 times |
| צֻוָּ֣ה | tzuvah | he was commanded | H6680 → | 494 times |
| בַֽיהוָ֔ה | bayahweh | by Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| לָתֵ֗ת | latet | to give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| אֶֽת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| נַחֲלַ֛ת | nachalat | [the] inheritance of | H5159 → | 222 times |
| צְלָפְחָ֥ד | tzelafechad | Zelophehad | H6765 → | 11 times |
| אָחִ֖ינוּ | ʾachinu | brother our | H251 → | 630 times |
| לִבְנֹתָֽיו׃ | livnotav | to daughters his | H1323 → | 588 times |
וַיֹּאמְר֗וּand they said
vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אֲדֹנִי֙lord my
ʾadoniH113 →333 times
צִוָּ֣הhe commanded
tzivahH6680 →494 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
לָתֵ֨תto give
latetH5414 →2011 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָאָ֧רֶץthe land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
בְּנַחֲלָ֛ה<in> an inheritance
benachalahH5159 →222 times
בְּגוֹרָ֖לby lot
begoralH1486 →78 times
לִבְנֵ֣יto [the] people of
livneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
וַֽאדֹנִי֙and lord my
vadoniH113 →333 times
צֻוָּ֣הhe was commanded
tzuvahH6680 →494 times
בַֽיהוָ֔הby Yahweh
bayahwehH3068 →6520 times
לָתֵ֗תto give
latetH5414 →2011 times
אֶֽת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
נַחֲלַ֛ת[the] inheritance of
nachalatH5159 →222 times
צְלָפְחָ֥דZelophehad
tzelafechadH6765 →11 times
אָחִ֖ינוּbrother our
ʾachinuH251 →630 times
לִבְנֹתָֽיו׃to daughters his
livnotavH1323 →588 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Joshua 13:6All the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon to Misrephoth-maim—all the Sidonians—I Myself will drive out before the Israelites. Be sure to divide it by lot as an inheritance to Israel, as I…
it leads to
- Joshua 11:8
and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Israel, who struck them down and pursued them all the way to Greater Sidon and Misrephoth-maim, and eastward as far as the Valley of Mizpeh.…
- Numbers 33:54
And you are to divide the land by lot according to your clans. Give a larger inheritance to a larger clan and a smaller inheritance to a smaller one. Whatever falls to each one…
- Judges 2:21–23
I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died.
- Joshua 23:13
know for sure that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become for you a snare and a trap, a scourge in your sides and…
- Joshua 11:8
Through
Numbers 33:54And you are to divide the land by lot according to your clans. Give a larger inheritance to a larger clan and a smaller inheritance to a smaller one. Whatever falls to each one…
it leads to
- Numbers 26:53–56
“The land is to be divided among the tribes as an inheritance, according to the number of names.
- Joshua 18:11
The first lot came up for the clans of the tribe of Benjamin. Their allotted territory lay between the tribes of Judah and Joseph:
- Joshua 17:1–13
Now this was the allotment for the tribe of Manasseh as Joseph’s firstborn son, namely for Machir the firstborn of Manasseh and father of the Gileadites, who had received Gilead and Bashan because Machir…
- Joshua 15:1–12
Now the allotment for the clans of the tribe of Judah extended to the border of Edom, to the Wilderness of Zin at the extreme southern boundary:
- Numbers 26:53–56
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Numbers
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.